These days many viruses and malwares target your PC , rendering the computer unbootable. Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper is a recovery tool that can help you start an infected PC and perform an offline scan to help identify and remove viruses, trojans, rootkits and other forms of malware effectively.
It can also be used if you cannot install or start an antivirus solution on your PC, or if the installed solution can’t detect or remove malware on your PC.This tool installs itself to either a USB drive or a blank CD/DVD disc and creates a bootable media that can be used to recover your system in the event of a malware or virus infection.
please ensure that you have a blank CD, DVD, or USB drive with at least 250 MB of space, and an active Internet connection .To use Standalone System Sweeper ,users need to boot from the disc or USB device which in turn loads the tool that gives you the options to scan the PC and recover it.
It will load the Windows preinstall environment to run the Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper application for scanning .This will first scans your boot sector for any corrupted files or settings. It then scans your system for any known malware or infections.
Download 32 Bit Version | Download 64 Bit Version | Installation Help
Microsoft has released latest Security Updates that fixes critical vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, MS Word and a number of other programs.It contains 14 bulletins covering 34 serious security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Silverlight, Microsoft XML Core Services and Server Message Block.Eight of the bulletins are rated “critical” because of the risk of remote code execution attacks. The other six are rated “important.”
Critical Updates:
•MS10-052: Resolves vulnerability in Microsoft's MPEG Layer-3 audio codecs.
•MS10-055: Fxes a hole in Windows Media Player's Cinepak Codec .
•MS10-056: Resolves four flaws in Microsoft Office.
•MS10-060: Plugs two holes that could allow remote code execution, in Microsoft .Net Framework and Microsoft Silverlight
Full details available here :Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for August 2010 and Assessing the risk of the August security updates
Zoom.it is a free service from Microsoft for viewing and sharing high-resolution imagery.It converts your image to the Deep Zoom format, which lets you smoothly and efficiently explore the whole image, no matter how large.You can upload any image, webpage, pdf, etc and get back a fully embeddable, short URL with deep zoom functionality. The new content created by Zoom.it can be shared via a link, or embedded in websites.
Zoom.it runs on Windows Azure and takes advantage of Microsoft Silverlight to provide the richest, most fluid zooming experience possible.
Microsoft released its much awaited version of Windows Live Essentials(beta) yesterday.It includes many free programs like Messenger, Photo Gallery, Mail, Movie Maker, Writer, Family Safety, and Sync, plus Bing Bar and Messenger Companion. You also get Microsoft Office Outlook Connector Pack and Microsoft Silverlight.It also connects online services from Microsoft and other providers, including social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Linkedin; popular blogging tools like Spaces, WordPress, and Blogger; online storage and photo/video sharing sites including SkyDrive, Flickr, YouTube, and SmugMug; email sites such as Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail.
Microsoft has introduced a powerful new feature-Photo Fuse- into Windows Live Photo Gallery which allows you to take parts of one Photo and merge it into another.It has also improved facial recognition.You can also tag people in your photos .With Movie Maker, you can make movies from your videos and photos. AutoMovie adds themes, transitions, effects, titles, and more .You can manage multiple e‑mail accounts—Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail* and more—in Windows Live Mail.
Please note: You must be using Vista SP2 or Windows 7 to install the new Wave 4 beta. It is not supported for XP
Download: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-essentials-beta
Microsoft released three critical security bulletins on Tuesday, plugging ten security patches covering a massive number of vulnerabilities, including a single Office patch that takes out fourteen bugs,those fixing 34 vulnerabilities affecting all supported versions of Windows, Office XP, Office 2003 and 2007.
Details here:-
- Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-033 – Critical
- Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-034 – Critical
- Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-035 - Critical
Security Patches
MS10-032/KB979559 - Important (2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 7, 2008, 2008 R2)
MS10-033/KB979902 - Critical (2000, XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2)
MS10-034/KB980195 - Critical (2000, XP, Vista, 7)/Moderate (2003, 2008, 2008 R2)
MS10-035/KB982381 - Critical (2000, XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2)
MS10-036/KB983235 - Important (Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007)
MS10-037/KB980218 - Important (2000, XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2)
MS10-038/KB2027452 - Important (Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007, Office 2004 for Mac, Office 2008 for Mac, Open XML File Format Converter for Mac, Excel Viewer, Office Compatibility Pack for Office 2007 File Formats)
MS10-039/KB980218 - Important (InfoPath 2003, InfoPath 2007, Office SharePoint Server 2007, Windows SharePoint Services 2.0
Desktop / Server MS10-040/KB982666 - Important (Vista, 7, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2)
MS10-041/KB981343 - Important (2000, XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2)
Microsoft’s summary of the June releases can be found here
We are familiar with free download managers like FDM,FlashGet etc.Recently Microsoft released its Download Manager which comes with all basic features that you want in a good download manager.It enables you to download files from the Internet in a more reliable and faster way than using a browser alone. With this it easier for you to download large files such as an application or multimedia files. This lightweight program has been specifically designed to manage file downloads from supporting Microsoft Web sites in a secure and reliable way.
Once started, the Download Manager displays an easy¬-to-use interface that shows the status of downloads and enables you to resume downloads if they have failed.The basic interface enables the user to add, pause, resume and delete downloads. It is furthermore possible to open the download folder a file was downloaded to.It allows you to resume file downloading and track the status of file downloading within program window.The current version of Download Manger supports Internet Explorer 6, IE 7, IE 8 and Mozilla Firefox.Supporting operating systems are Windows 2003; Windows 2008; Vista; XP Service Pack 2;Win 7
Download: Microsoft Download Manager
MS Office 2010 has been released for download for 60 days trail directly from Technet evaluation center.It combines everything you need to create, edit, and share documents from virtually anywhere. You get top-of-the-line tools to run your business and projects efficiently.you could download the latest version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus to evaluate it for 60 days. It is available in 32-bit as well as 64-bit versions
The Office 2010 evaluation version comes with certain restrictions :-
- You have to uninstall older versions of MS Office present on the PC.
- This evaluation software will expire in 60 days after which it will deactivate and must be uninstalled before installing a purchased copy.
- A Windows Live ID is needed to register for the MS Office 2010 Professional Plus evaluation
You need to have:
• Internet access (to download Office Professional Plus 2010 and get updates)
• A PC with these minimum recommended specifications:
500 MHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor or higher
256 MB of system memory or more
3 GB of available disk space
1024x768 or higher resolution monitor
DVD-R/W Drive
• Supported Operating Systems:
Windows XP with Service Pack (SP) 3 (32-bit)
Windows Vista with SP1 (32-bit or 64-bit)
Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
Windows Server 2008 with SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
To install Office Professional Plus 2010 you have to grab product key through registration.You can register for evaluation here .Note down /print product key for future reference .You can select the product version and language .Then download and install with download manager
Microsoft Office 2010 Direct Download Links
- Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 (Technet Link)
- Microsoft Office 2010 32-bit English | Microsoft Office 2010 64-bit English (Direct Download)
Also Read: What is new in Office 2010
Microsoft issued 13 security bulletins for February's Patch Tuesday, patching a total of 26 vulnerabilities in a massive update Feb. 9.Five of the vulnerabilities are rated "Critical," seven are marked as "Important," and the last one is classified as "Moderate." .
The seventeen-year-old Windows vulnerability that came to light last month will be patched, but the Internet Explorer flaw discovered this week will not.
Further reading: Microsoft Security Bulletin February 2010 –Summary
Breakdown of the some of the more notable issues being addressed here
Microsoft has revised its antitrust-settlement with European Union regulators in response to complaints from browser makers.So Windows users will see a browser ballot screen that randomly lists the icons of the top five browsers upon every launch.Earlier Apple's Safari for Windows browser was slated to receive prominent placement on a "browser ballot".Complaints from Opera, Google, and Mozilla resulted in the change to random listing of browsers upon every launch.
The browser ballot screen will let European PC users download a third-party browser without having to use Internet Explorer . Microsoft’s browser dominance has eroded in recent years. Internet Explorer had 63.6 percent of the market in November, compared with 24.7 percent for Mozilla’s Firefox, 4.4 percent for Apple Inc.’s Safari and 3.9 percent for Google’s Chrome. Opera had 2.3 percent.
Microsoft's Patch Tuesday (08-12-2009) fix will solve a reported twelve security flaws.Among the critical patches, two affect Windows, and there is one each that addresses issues in Word, Excel, Visual Basic, and Internet Explorer.Three of the six bulletins will be rated “critical”.
The patches will fix security holes in:
- Internet Explorer 5, 6, 7 & 8
- Windows 2000 Service Pack 4
- Windows XP Service Pack 2 & 3
- Windows Vista Service Pack 1 & 2
- Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2
- Windows Server 2008 Systems Service Pack 2
- Office XP Service Pack 3
- Office 2003 Service Pack 3
For more details visit Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for December 2009
Security Patches
Other Updates
Microsoft released new Bing Toolbar for Firefox and IE. It comes with access to Hotmail, latest news, features and the Search Assist With this you can turbo charge the browser’s search capabilities.
Features
- Search Assist.
- Browse Plus
- No-Fail Cash Detector
You'll receive suggested searches, image suggestions, and your search history in Search Assist.Browse Plus, which automatically delivers breaking news and can also be configured to watch specific stocks and sports news.No-Fail Cash Detector help you save money when shopping online.
You can customize it fully to suit your tastes and interests. You can choose which buttons to have available for use by simply dragging them to and fro from the buttons drop down list which is accessible by clicking on the plus sign to the right of the default buttons, and there are some very useful ones to choose from.
English is today the third most widely distributed language as a first spoken language in the world, after Mandarin and Hindi.Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "global language", the lingua franca of the modern era .But for communication , many people are not very comfortable as English is not their native language.
The Microsoft Research ESL Assistant is a web service that provides correction suggestions for typical ESL (English as a Second Language) errors. Such errors include, for example, the choice of determiners (the/a) and the choice of prepositions.It also provides word choice suggestions from a thesaurus. In order to help the user make decisions on whether to accept a suggestion, the service displays "before and after" web search results so that the user can see real-life examples of the usage of both their original input and the suggested correction.
Visit: http://www.eslassistant.com/
You can use the ESL Tool to check your emails and other writings for errors online which requires the Silverlight plugin
ESL addon for Microsoft Outlook will you to send the contents of the email message you're writing directly to ESL Assistant. This text will then be immediately checked for errors.
Microsoft Corp on Wednesday unveiled its Hohm website designed to help residential power consumers save money and reduce their environmental impact by conserving energy. With Microsoft Hohm you can better understand your home energy usage, get 
Microsoft has officially unveiled its long-awaited Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware software - Microsoft Security Essentials today.The public beta will be limited to 75,000 downloads, Microsoft says, and the targets are global. The initial beta release is limited to the United States, Israel and Brazil. Next month, the beta will open up for users in China.
The new app, which will replace Windows Live OneCare, aims to cover the basic security needs of home users, and its easy-to-use interface appears to be taking the right approach to the task.
If your Windows is a licensed version (Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or above), Windows Vista, or Windows 7) you’ll be able to download and install the software at no additional charge.
Once your Windows has been validated, Security Essentials will now get ready to be installed.After installation, you will be redirected to automatic virus & spyware definition updates.
There are three options to perform a System Scan -Quick, Full, or Custom.Microsoft Security Essentials adds antivirus protection—both real-time protection and on-demand scanning—to the mix
Check here to download :Softpedia
Related Reading
Microsoft Corp is getting ready to unveil a long-anticipated free Antivirus software –Morro for personal computers that will compete with products sold by Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc.
Microsoft tried the antivirus market before with their OneCare bundle, but not a freeware.Last year Microsoft announcement was made as it would not be continuing to support its Windows Live OneCare security suite. Now seven months later Microsoft are hinting that its free offering is nearly ready for release.
Microsoft Morro is not download and install software. Rather, it is a hosted application that will include a “real-time anti-malware” application.This is the big difference between Morro and the free products which don’t always address real time malware threats.
Read more here
Microsoft has recently publicly launched their new search engine Bing.It provides very good general search results with high relevance, big index and quick speed .Bing add-on for the Firefox lets you add Bing to the list of search engines in the Firefox Search bar, if you are interested in trying out .
If you are using Internet Explorer 8,visit Add-ons Gallery or click the drop down menu of Windows Live Search, click “Find More Providers”
That will direct you Add-ons Gallery: Search Providers ,from there you add Bing
To add Bing in Chrome, go to Settings > Options and in the Basics tab click on Manage present under Default Search. Now click Add and give the name as ‘Bing’, Keyword as ‘Bing.com’ and URL as “http://www.bing.com/search?q=%s&go=&form=QBLH&scope=web“. Click OK and set Bing as default search by selecting “Make Default”.
Bing has been launched today and it’s now available for everyone(It was supposed to go live on June 3rd). You can start searching now and see what results it returns.
